


The Disappearance of Phillip J. Fry

by MoonSilverSprite



Series: Buzzfeed Unsolved - Fictional Disappearances [3]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Futurama
Genre: Conspiracy Theories, Missing Persons, Mystery, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 13:56:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17509883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonSilverSprite/pseuds/MoonSilverSprite
Summary: Tonight, Buzzfeed Unsolved looks at the strange life of Phillip J. Fry. Whether he died in 1999 or 2012, they agree that this mystery has all sorts of twists and turns.





	The Disappearance of Phillip J. Fry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Origamidragons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Origamidragons/gifts).



OK, guys, this is – a very bizarre case, even for us, so try to bear with us as we go over the details.

_As if it wasn’t strange enough that a guy simply vanishes into seemingly thin air, there are two separate records and major theories as to what may have happened to him._

Phillip J. Fry was born on August 14th 1974 in Brooklyn, New York. Phillip spent his early life with his parents and his brother, Yancy Fry Jr. He reportedly wanted to be an astronaut as a child, but no-one liked spending more than a week with him. His father, Yancy Fry Sr., who was paranoid about both the Communists and the Y2K, allegedly refusing to send Phillip to school as it would be ‘a waste of taxpayer’s money’. This meant that young Phillip mainly taught himself.

_This sounds like a very messed-up childhood. Did – his parents even want him? From what I see, they seemed to prefer his older brother._

And that’s a theory I’ll get into later.

_Right._

Young Phillip also played basketball with his older brother, took part in break-dancing competitions and played video games every day except for one day when his eyes bled.

_(wheezes)_

Dude. I’m trying to be serious.

_Sorry._

Phillip attended Coney Island Community College, but dropped out. He then went to work as a pizza delivery boy for a restaurant named Panucci’s Pizza, situated in Manhattan. He owned a dog in this time period, named Seymour. But on New Year’s Eve 1999, everything changed.

_Phillip Fry was sent out to deliver a pizza shortly before midnight on December 31st 1999, to an undisclosed address in Manhattan. Now, here is where the record gets sketchy._

And, quite frankly, mysterious.

_One record that we were able to find, from police reports, says that Fry didn’t return from delivering the pizza. He had last been seen by his ex-girlfriend Michelle Jenkins, who apparently disappeared herself in 2012. Her case is still open. The police investigation said that a fake name had been given by a prank call, using the name ‘I.C. Weiner’._

However, another record, this one supposedly more reliable, comes from documents and pictures supplied by the Fry family. This one states that Phillip actually came back from delivering the pizza. Instead, he died twelve years later, to the day, on December 31st 2012, when his apartment above the pizza store was destroyed. Oddly enough, however, his body was never found in the apartment, despite a thorough search.

_So, what happened? Did he disappear in 1999 or die in 2012?_

This is where it gets unusual, guys. Only one police report was found from 1999 concerning Phillip J. Fry. It said that he disappeared, his parents reporting his disappearance two days later. But Phillip allegedly returned home shortly after, saying he had simply been in his apartment. The police, apparently, didn’t bother to check. New York’s Police Department at its finest… 

_The person calling themselves Phillip J. Fry – and law enforcement are one hundred percent sure it was him, guys –_

With a life like that, it’s hard to imagine anyone would want to steal his identity.

_\- Started working at the New York Aquarium. He became very attached to a narwhal named ‘Leelu’. His family said that he would spend every day with her, which caused them to call him ‘even crazier than before’. When Leelu was released into the wild, Phillip Fry took out a boat and searched the Arctic for her._

When he returned to New York, two years later, he was seen going back to his apartment, where it caught on fire the same day. As we said before, the body of Phillip Fry was never recovered from the building. Strangely enough, some time earlier, an unknown visitor had been to Yancy Jr.’s house and found his son, five-year-old Phillip Fry Jr., when the latter answered the door. The mysterious figure, who evidently resembled a trashcan, had mistaken the young boy for the older Phillip, due to his name. The stranger produced a gun and the boy frantically replied that his uncle was at the North Pole. A few days later, the apartment was set on fire.

_So someone was after Phillip? That kid – that kid must hate himself._

He was five years old, a stranger comes to the door with a gun, what would you expect him to do?

 _Which brings us to our theories. And oh boy…are these_ bonkers.

The first theory is that the real Phillip J. Fry died on December 31st 1999, possibly committing suicide by jumping into the Hudson.

_Considering everything that happened to him…I…I wouldn’t really be that surprised…_

Yeah, dude.

_But what doesn’t make sense about this theory is that why would someone pretend to be him?_

That’s the interesting part. That his parents were either responsible for the prank call and had something kill him, then have someone replace him.

_That – doesn’t really make a lot of sense. True, they seem to have disliked him, but I don’t think anyone would carry out a scam like that. Why would they? I mean – if he was still a kid, then I’d understand to try and get child welfare, but this was a grown adult with his own place._

Which is why this theory is mostly discredited.

_Another theory is that Phillip genuinely died in 2012, either in the apartment and his remains were too destroyed to be identified…or by the mysterious figure, who took him from the fire and killed him someplace else._

Again, this theory does not make sense. If – a hitman wants to – kill someone, they do it simply. Not make a big song and dance about everything.

_Another theory concerning the apartment fire is that Phillip Fry set his home on fire to fake his own death and went back to sea to search for the narwhal again, or maybe to create a new life._

Oddly enough, this one makes the most sense. The entire story is a confusing mess. What police are agreed on, however, is that Phillip was alive in 2012. Whether he is still alive now, had been killed by the mysterious stranger or went back to sea is unknown.

_That’s all from us. Goodnight._


End file.
